When Jesus gathered all of the disciples together for the first time he didn’t say that spreading the word of God would be an easy job but neither did he say it was going to be hard Jesus` exact words were “if anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever looses his life for me and the gospel will save it” I think that by this statement He meant that it isn’t exactly going to be easy because people would try to stand in the way but if the apostles stayed true to their faith and stuck up for what they believed in no matter what they would be rewarded in heaven. Jesus was at the temple with the disciples one day and was sitting near to the temple treasury; he was watching the people as they dropped in their money. The rich dropped in a lot of money, as did many others but just then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins worth about a penny. When Jesus saw this he called over the disciples and told them what he had just seen. Jesus used the widow and the rich man as an example of a good disciple. The widow was the good disciple as although she didn’t put in as much money as the rich man she put in all she had.
Peter said to Jesus “look we have left everything and followed you.” when Peter said this I think he was trying to say we have left everything and for what because Jesus then said to Peter and the rest of the disciples “Yes and I tell you that anyone who leaves home or brothers or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel will receive much more in this present age. He will receive a hundred times more brothers, sisters, mother’s children and fields- and persecutions as well; and in the age to come he will receive eternal life...” By this I think Jesus was telling the disciples that he is very grateful and that the disciples will be rewarded for their good deeds.
All of Jesus` followers let him down at some point but here are two of the most well known stories in which Jesus was let down by his disciples. The first story is about when peter denied knowing Jesus and the second is about how Judas betrayed Jesus. Both of these men sinned but only one lost hope. By this I mean that although they both did wrong only one of the men had faith and kept on believing in god and that they could, in time be forgiven.
Jesus said to his disciples “all of you will run away and leave me…..” when Peter heard this he said “I will never leave you even if all the rest do!” Jesus then continued to say to Peter “I tell you that before the cock crows twice to night, you will say three times that you do not know me.” When Peter heard this he said to Jesus in an even stronger tone then that of which he used before “I will never say that, even if I have to die with you!” But when Peter realised that he did deny Jesus he broke down in tears.
Judas had told the armed soldiers that the man which he kissed would be the one who they were to arrest. As soon as Judas saw Jesus he went over to him and said “teacher” he then kissed him. So the soldiers arrested him. For most people a kiss could symbolise love, friendship and affection but Judas` kiss symbolised betrayal, identification of Jesus and hatred.
Judas lost hope in forgiveness for he believed that what he had done was unforgivable and he had also lost hope in his faith I say this for if he hadn’t of lost hope then he wouldn’t of betrayed Jesus and took his own life. Peter on the other hand learned to forgive himself and he carried on spreading the word of god like Jesus had told him to. I know this for peter went on to become the first pope.
Before Jesus sent his disciples out to preach for the first time he called them over and sent them out two by two, he gave them authority to drive out demons and he told them the following- “don’t take anything with you except a stick- no bread, no beggar’s bag, no money in your pockets. Wear sandals but don’t carry an extra shirt…. Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. If you come to a place where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you leave it and shake the dust off your feet that will be a warning to them” The meaning behind this is that they were to rely totally on God and the preaching of the good news was to be their only concern.
Before Jesus ascended in to heaven he appeared to the remaining eleven disciples as they were eating. First he scolded them because they did not have faith and did not believe others when they were told that he had risen. Jesus told the disciples the following “go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to the whole human race. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved and whoever does not believe will be condemned. Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will pick up snakes or drink any poison and, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, who will get well.” When Jesus said this I think that what he meant was that if people chose to follow God and his Gospel not only will they be rewarded in heaven but they will also be able to perform wonderful things which will help others in a big way.
The greatest commandment in relation to discipleship is as Jesus said "The most important one is this: 'Listen Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength'". That is the greatest commandment, and is followed by "Love your neighbour as you love yourself", Jesus rightly said "There is no other commandment more important than these two" and I think that he was and still is right. These are the key to a happy and caring life, if everybody in the world lived their lives by these commandments, what a lovely place the world would be! The disciples related to these commandments and they preached them to those who believed. The first rule of discipleship is this commandment, and it’s a commandment that we should all follow in order to be a modern day disciple.
